Moldova Feared Russian Invasion

Moldova is located in the south-east of Ukraine, near Odessa, and is one of the former Soviet republics that declared independence after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

According to reports on July 24th, Moldova’s prime minister said on Sunday that she was “very worried” that Russia would next invade her country, given Russia’s military advances in eastern and southern Ukraine, near the Moldovan-Ukrainian border.

Prime Minister of Moldova Natalia Gavrilita said this is just a hypothetical situation at the moment, but if military action pushes further into southwestern Ukraine and Odessa, then of course we will be very worried. She said if a country can wage a war of annexation in disregard of international law, then no one is safe. She thought a lot of countries are going to be worried.

Fears of a Russian invasion in Moldova intensified in March when a leaked photo showed Putin’s ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pointing to Moldova on a combat map.

Moldova is a small country with a population of about 2.5 million. During the war in Ukraine, Moldova hosted about 500,000 Ukrainian refugees, and at one point more refugees than any other country.